Proposition 111 Gasoline Tax

Los Alamitos, Stanton and Westminster have approved traffic reduction plans that will make them eligible for their share of Proposition 111 gasoline tax revenue. As a result, Los Alamitos could gain about $50,000 a year for street improvements, according to city officials. Westminster could receive about $250,000 and Stanton about $100,000. Proposition 111, which was passed by state voters in June, calls for a 9-cent gas tax increase, incremental over a five-year period.

February 16, 1994 | DAVID WILLMAN and CLAIRE SPIEGEL and VIRGINIA ELLIS, TIMES STAFF WRITERS

Powerless to prevent his 14-ton vehicle from jerking half a lane to the right, Faust braked to a heart-pounding stop. Then he swung the 40-foot bus sideways--blocking oncoming drivers from what only he and a handful of others could see: A gaping chasm in the eight-lane Simi Valley Freeway, where it once crossed San Fernando Mission Boulevard. "It was like looking down into a pit, a void," said Faust, whose bus was not carrying passengers. "My thought was: 'Am I going to get out of here safely?'

May 26, 1990 | Elements of the ad, with an analysis by Times staff writer Virginia Ellis

The ballot measure: Proposition 111. Whose ad?: Citizens Against Unfair Taxation. The 30-second spot features a series of charts showing what the sponsors believe will be the effect on state government if Proposition 111--to raise the gasoline tax and modify the state spending limit--is passed. Elements of the ad, with an analysis by Times staff writer Virginia Ellis: Ad: "Proposition 111 on your ballot is the largest tax increase in the state's history."

The City Council this week imposed regulations on new businesses with 100 or more employees to encourage car-pooling and use of other means of transportation. The provisions will qualify the city for its share of Proposition 111 state transportation funding. That proposition, which voters approved in June, 1990, added what will eventually be a 9-cent-per-gallon increase in the gasoline tax to help pay for transportation improvements.

Keith McKean has a nightmare: He is driving along a newly widened, 12-lane freeway between Irvine and Santa Ana when a sea of brake lights suddenly appears ahead, forcing him to come to a dead stop. The freeway ahead has narrowed to only six lanes and traffic has backed up. McKean, however, is not just any commuter suffering from traffic stress. He is director of the California Department of Transportation's district office in Orange County.

California's new gasoline tax went into effect Wednesday with few apparent hitches, drawing resigned grumbles from motorists as nearly 12,000 service stations across the state began collecting an extra nickel for each gallon of gas they sell. Spot reports from service stations and dealer associations throughout Southern California and the rest of the state indicated that most motorists came prepared to pay more for gas when they pulled up to the pumps throughout the day Wednesday.

In their first chance to get at cash from the new 5-cent gasoline tax increase, officials of Southern California communities Tuesday proposed new highway projects costing far more than will be available under the voter-approved measure. The wish list presented to the California Transportation Commission at a hearing in Los Angeles included freeway-widening projects that officials said were unneeded as recently as five years ago but are now deemed essential to relieve congestion.

Although voters approved billions of dollars in new state spending in Tuesday's election, the mix of ballot measures and bond issues will only help, not cure, California's budget woes. Though voters approved all the money issues Gov.

Republican Gov. George Deukmejian and California's business establishment can thank Democratic voters--especially liberals--for passage of the costly, ambitious transportation plan they eagerly sought, the Los Angeles Times Poll found. GOP voters rejected the measure, which will double the state gasoline tax and open the state treasury by raising the government spending limit.

Los Alamitos, Stanton and Westminster have approved traffic reduction plans that will make them eligible for their share of Proposition 111 gasoline tax revenue. As a result, Los Alamitos could gain about $50,000 a year for street improvements, according to city officials. Westminster could receive about $250,000 and Stanton about $100,000. Proposition 111, which was passed by state voters in June, calls for a 9-cent gas tax increase, incremental over a five-year period.

In their first chance to get at cash from the new 5-cent gasoline tax increase, officials of Southern California communities Tuesday proposed new highway projects costing far more than will be available under the voter-approved measure. The wish list presented to the California Transportation Commission at a hearing in Los Angeles included freeway-widening projects that officials said were unneeded as recently as five years ago but are now deemed essential to relieve congestion.

California's new gasoline tax went into effect Wednesday with few apparent hitches, drawing resigned grumbles from motorists as nearly 12,000 service stations across the state began collecting an extra nickel for each gallon of gas they sell. Spot reports from service stations and dealer associations throughout Southern California and the rest of the state indicated that most motorists came prepared to pay more for gas when they pulled up to the pumps throughout the day Wednesday.

A retired legislator filed a lawsuit to invalidate gas tax-raising Proposition 111, alleging that the state's top elected officials deceived voters with misleading ballot statements. The suit by former Democratic Assemblyman Bert DeLotto of Fresno and 12 others seeks to toss out the June 5 election results and allow voters to reconsider Proposition 111 on the November ballot.

The Century Freeway and dozens of other road projects in Southern California became the first to benefit Wednesday from the voters' decision June 5 to endorse a gasoline tax increase. Rushing to get work delayed by funding shortages back on schedule, the California Transportation Commission approved $257 million in backlogged projects scattered throughout the state. But most of the initial funding went to the south, with the biggest chunks--totaling $118.

Voter opinion on Proposition 111, the state measure that would raise gasoline taxes for road improvements and transit systems, is now evenly divided, according to the latest California Poll. The poll results, released this week, found that 46% of the 1,007 voters questioned earlier this month were in favor of the measure and 46% were against it. Proposition 111 will be on the June ballot. Soon after the Oct. 17 Bay Area earthquake, the proposition was favored 55% to 45% in a California Poll.